September 7, 2015 - 09:53
“Never believe people online, every nice person you talk to in that chat room will coerce you into meeting up in real life and turn out to be a 60 year old pedophile.”
My sophomore year I started talking to a boy a few years younger than I. I had met him through a group conversation for my current obsession. As I had been taught many times, I entered into every chat online with the utmost care, and I felt it necessary to share my caution with everyone I met. Despite my warnings that people online cannot be trusted, this boy shared many things with me about hardships I had never even considered. At times I felt uncomfortable with his openness, at others I felt happy to be needed, and eventually I began to trust him as well. After years of chatting online we came across the opportunity to meet face to face, and although he seemed ecstatic, I found myself dreading the encounter. Despite my fears, weeks later we met at the beach and had a great time. He was a bit chubbier than I had expected from pictures, and he had longer hair, but he was the same kid I had spent hours talking to online. I was relieved, but not surprised. I’m glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to meet him that day.